TTUTA on a Tuesday

Young teachers: The future of the profession

Part 1

WE OFTEN hear the maxim, “Young people are the future.” When this is couched in the context of the teaching profession, the obvious conclusion is that young teachers represent the future of the profession and by extension the nation.

Schools as professional learning communities

A strong PLC will bring together the knowledge, skills and dispositions of teachers and administrators to promote shared learning and improvements. It becomes a social process for turning information into knowledge; a piece of social ingenuity based on the principle that new ideas, knowledge creation, inquiry and sharing are essential to solving learning barriers in a rapidly changing society.

Reflecting on our republican status

AS WE celebrate our nation’s republican status, it is timely for us to collectively reflect on our achievements in the sphere of education.

Many may say we have made significant strides such as the achievement of universal early childhood, primary and secondary education as well as free tertiary education. Our school graduates have been able to hold their own in a very competitive global environment, making significant contributions both locally and internationally.

School leadership

THE RECENT statement by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Education regarding the system of appointment of principals is both profound and timely, as schools strive to ensure relevance. This admission holds out promise for the overall improvement of schools if the intent is followed by concrete action.

Artificial intelligence and the teaching profession

ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) is a reality of the world and many workers are being displaced by machines in an effort by employers to reduce production costs as well as improve efficiency. The implementation of sophisticated technology in the classroom and workplace will only increase as the technology advances. What we have to guard against is the way in which that technology is implemented to ensure that the personal touch of the teachers’ role is never compromised or undermined. No machine will ever replace the teacher despite the promise that the technology holds out.

The Politics of Education

As has become typical and expected, a number of school doors remain shut even after eight weeks to enact the vacation repair programme; even after the Ministry of Education would have received files upon files from affected schools throughout the preceding academic year about the various problems negatively impacting their effective functioning. Given this prevailing trend over time, perhaps the time has come for us to examine the problem through different lens.

End of one era, dawn of a new

Part II
We continue where we left off last week, sharing Fred van Leeuwen’s recount of his 25-year tenure as general secretary of Education International (EI). The closing quote from Part I of this series declared, “The way things will go in the world rests on what teachers do.”

Creating Successful Schools

As we strive to reform our education system to meet the needs of our society, we must be clear about the standards to which we must aspire. Many education researchers have weighed in on this issue over time and it would be worthwhile to articulate some of these ideals in our quest to make our education system more meaningful and relevant. Despite the false boasts of some education quarters, our school system continues to fail us as a society from both a social and economic perspective.